on postcards and what not: a look into the meaning of this blog's title

Well, it's pretty simple actually.

I used to fancy myself a stamp collector. I went as far as buying a stamp collection book. I gave up on the endeavor however due to boredom.

In 1997, i was fortunate enough to have traveled the US. On the second trip, I stayed for a month and as part of ritual meant to ease homesickness, i sent postcards (to my then-bf now-husband) for every state i visited. Oh, i was rabid. i even sent a postcard from phoenix. never mind if we had to rush from one terminal to the other in less than 30 minutes(my friend and i were on buddy passes so it was pretty haggard). No wait. i don't think i bought a postcard in phoenix. i think i got myself a cactus or something.

anyway, when i went home, i had a grand time looking at the postcards i sent (i'm narcissistic that way). Then it hit me. Postcards (with paper stamps not metered ones) are better material for a collection. Aside from the fact that you're topmost on the person who's travelling (therefore you have an 85% chance of getting a pasalubong hahaha), it's also a way for me to vicariously live through my friend's experience. An ingenious way of scratching my travel itch.

I started asking friends to send me postcards since 2000, I think. So far, I have postcards (all addressed to me!) from Greece, Israel, France, a number from UK (a friend is on scholarship there), Turkey, Switzerland, US, Australia, Fiji, MOngolia (!), Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Japan and a couple more.

A friend (the one who's on scholarship) regularly sends postcards to me and considers them some sort of a journal. She's addicted to writing them, she wrote recently.

A couple of friends went to nepal last week. I'm excited to receive the postcard they sent, never mind if they're already here and have exhausted all their Nepal/Bangkok stories. Anticipating its arrival is still fun.

I met a guy once during a workshop and he's from Micronesia. I was tempted to ask him to send a postcard from Pohnpei but stopped myself. he was quite standoffish and my sheepishness got the better of me. sayang the opportunity. I can't imagine any of my friends going to any of the counries in Micronesia any time soon.